Another Look into The Last of Us Part II

A series of notes about different aspects of Naughty Dog’s latest production — The Last of Us Part II.

I was set on writing this third part of my thoughts back in August, just as I finished playing. But somehow it got lost in the midst of studying and other assignments. With Christmas approaching, I began to consider playing the game for the second time. So I was unsure - some of my emotions weren't as strong anymore, and then there was the possibility that after the second playthrough some of my thoughts might change. I didn't know whether I should wait or not. Eventually, I decided it's better to try to write this third part as it was initially intended - if not for any other reason, then at least this way I will be able to see how my own thoughts have developed and changed through time.

Without further ado,

Part 3 - Love

All the leaks aside, I was intuitively sure Joel was going to die. If not before then definitely after seeing the first gameplay trailer. By the time leaks confirmed it, I had already accepted the fact. My greatest fear was not seeing him die though. It was the possibility that he might become the bad guy.

And by the bad guy, I mean, in the eyes of Ellie, and the overall context of her story.

Here's a little flashback to me playing the original The Last of Us.

I have to be honest, when I first found out that Joel's decision at the end of the game is widely considered to be controversial I was stupefied. I was so sure this little girl needed to live and that humanity, whatever the word even meant in the universe of The Last of Us, was hardly worth a hair from her head. A thought that Joel might be in the wrong never crossed my mind.

Listening to people making cases against Joel was insightful and it definitely has broadened my understanding of the world and morality, and people. It also perfectly illustrates how subject-driven our initial view of the world is. Due to it, many things can be true and untrue at the same time. Especially in the realm of morality and human relationships.

Submerging into the discussions around Joel didn't change much about my subjective view on the events of the first game. Nevertheless, it made me aware of how easily Joel's actions and his personality can be deconstructed and reviewed to be cast in a completely different light.

I guess the central question to me, going into The Last of Us Part II, was what approach will be at the very core of this next chapter - will it be about love or hate?

I had enough trust in Neil Druckmann and the team to accept the latter. Still, it was both a relief and a pleasure to realize that they opted for the former.

Joel is present only in a small part of the second game. But love for his character is at the very core of the story. It's the kind of love that understands all the little things about every single way a person could be bad or in the wrong, yet still loves unconditionally. Troy Baker deserves all the praise in the world for his nuanced portrayal. Although the second game features significantly less of Joel, it often felt like the character was even better crafted and deeply understood here.

In the first game a lot about Joel's character was to a certain degree archetypical. He represented a father figure, a protector, a survivor. It's understandable, considering that he was the game's main playable character. It was therefore necessary for him to have a number of traits that most of the audience could identify or sympathize with. In Part II he feels flesh and blood. That somewhat awkward moment in the very beginning of the game when Joel comes over to Ellie's place with the guitar - in that scene alone Joel feels more real-life, unique person than at any moment in the first game.

I say that The Last of Us Part II is filled with love towards Joel, but I have to admit it's once again my subjective understanding of love. Someone, heck this could even be Joel himself, will say that love is about envisioning the best possible future for the one you love. And it's true. And it's clearly not what happened to Joel. Yet another kind of love is also real - a love at times even more courageous - the one that's brave enough to let its object free.

Now, I'm sure there are people out there who would argue that there's no way that Joel's character was set free in this story. On the opposite, they will say that he was used as nothing more than a plot device. Yet sometimes two things can be true at once. Sometimes a character can arrive at the point in the story where he/she triggers further development of the plot naturally, therefore both being a plot device to a degree and free at the same time.

There are two instances in writing of Joel in the game that stroke me the most. First was his line to Abby after being captured, the one about saying whatever speech she had rehearsed and getting it over with. The second one was in their final conversation with Ellie where he doubled down on saving her from Firefly hospital. Those moments were perfect for an insert of the author's perspective on things. Yet no judgment and no reassurance followed. Characters were left alone in the world, free to live out their stories just as they would.

Also, I don't remember whether it was ever mentioned in the first game, but hearing Joel talking about God shook me to the core. It made me see the things he did in a different light. He could have killed dozens of people to save Ellie and justify it to himself in a sort of survival of the strongest or us vs. them kind of mentality. Yet if you believe in God and still are willing to condemn your own soul to an eternity of hell for something... If that is not love, I don't know what is.

Love is by no means simple though. It's a complex and multilayered concept.

In media and pop-culture, we are used to seeing it as the ultimate goal. People want to be loved, find the one, be adored and admired by their friends and peers. Social media have basically monetized love by introducing various systems of likes and views to determine the earnings of content creators. Love is supposed to be the object of our desires.

Yet sometimes love can also be too much.

Sometimes we refuse to accept love.

A number of reasons why may exist. We may not love the person back in the same kind of way, we may think we don't deserve it, or being loved by someone can simply put too much weight and responsibility on us. It's a subject hardly talked about publicly and rarely addressed in media on a deep enough level. Sometimes you can stumble upon a romantic comedy with a protagonist with a dark past, not willing to love and accept love. But these types of stories never go beyond the superficial level of stating a character trait, and in the end, all these problems just magically disappear because the one has been found.

Joel's love for Ellie and the sacrifice he made can definitely feel too much.

His actions can basically be translated into "I think your life is worth more than the world" and "I don't care about my soul as long as I see you alive and happy". How can one even live up to such a responsibility?

In the previous part of my notes, I talked about how Ellie is angry with Joel's decision because it violated her freedom of choice and therefore she feels as if she has no agency of her own when around him. Now add to that the enormous emotional and moral weight Joel's love put on her. How can she even try to live a life that will mean more than her death could have? Still, this is basically the goal Joel's love sets for Ellie.

The key though is not in "how", it's in the fact that Ellie doesn't believe she is worthy of such love. People have died next to her and to save her. She feels guilty for that. Surely it's not love she thinks she deserves.

We accept the love we think we deserve. And Ellie believes she hardly deserves any. Heck, she even tried to dismiss Dina's kiss as Dina being Dina at first.

Self-love has become a buzzword these days. Many strive for it, yet hardly anyone has any real idea of how to attain it.

At first, it seemed to me that Ellie's story was a journey towards forgiving Joel and accepting her love for him no matter the things he had done. Now I realize the truth is that Ellie never questioned her love for Joel. Yes, she was deeply angry at him and hurt, yet her love for him remained unshaken. Not even facing the people whose lives he destroyed and damaged had changed that.

It's her love for herself that's under question.

Joel is present throughout The Last of Us Part II as a beacon. As Ellie's story descends deeper into darkness, flashbacks to the past events with Joel, although not all of them from their happiest times, keep reminding us that there's light in Ellie - that she is the girl many and many of us believed to be more precious than a chance to save humanity. He also represents a symbolic fight Ellie is having within herself. Does she deserve to be in this world, to live, to be loved, or is she just a broken mess only good for killing people or getting people killed?

Joel's love represents the best of Ellie, the best possible version of Ellie. And it's this love that eventually helps save her.

In the very last scene of the game, Ellie lets go of her old things, of Joel's guitar. I used to think it was symbolic of her forgiving him and letting him go. I now think it is just as symbolic of her forgiving herself and accepting a little love for herself.

P.S. Initially I wanted to expand this part to also discuss a couple of aspects from Abby's story, especially Lev and Owen, but I think they deserve a separate section - one that will most likely follow after my second playthrough.